Lighter construction



June 19, 1951 C, w, HQTZE 2,557,825

LIGHTER CONSTRUCTION Filed April 6, 1949 YFIG 4 a a4 :sa

4 53 Q r 3 I6 f V l `25 `24 \7 g4 F1695 `l 9 4 A I INVENTOR.' 7 3 CHARLES W. HOTZE 7 mx A muy as s ATT'Ys Patented June 19, 1951 UNITED STATES FATENT OFFICE LIGHTER CNSTRUCTION Charles W. Hotze, Wilmette, Ill.

Application April 6, 1949, Serial No. 85,809

8 Claims. (Cl. 67 7.1)

This invention relates to cigar and cigarette lighters and particularly to such devices of the iiint and wheel or sparking type utilizing a liquid fuel carried by a wick.

The main objects of this invention are to provide an improved lighter construction; to provide an improved construction and arrangement of the operating parts in a lighter whereby greater ease and economy in manufacture and assembly are obtained; to provide an improved cover and snuffer cap construction for lighters; to provide a lighter having an improved snuier cap capable of more effectively sealing the wick opening when the lighter cover is closed; to provide an improved hinge and mounting means for lighter covers; to provide an improved hinge spring arrangement for lighter covers; to provide a lighter construction having an improved arrangement of the flint tube and the closure therefor; and to provide a lighter having an improved and more easily operated iiint pressure means.

A specific embodiment of this invention is shown in the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure l is a side view of the improved lighter.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the same.

Fig. 3 is a bottom plan view of the same.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged vertical sectional View, as taken on line 4 4 of Fig. 2, showing the internal arrangement and construction of the improved lighter.

Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view, as taken on line 5 5 of Fig. 4, showing the arrangement of the improved wick opening sealing means in the snuffer cap.

Fig. 6 is a similar view taken on line 6 6 of Fig. 5 to show the improved cover and snuifer cap spring and attachment means.

Fig. '7 is a similar view taken on line '1 1 of Fig. 4 showing the snufier cap hinge member and its seating arrangement.

Fig. 8 is a sectional detail view taken on line 8 8 of Fig. 6 to show the hinge pintle construction, and

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view of the bottom portion of the lighter, showing the ller-opening closure cap removed and the manner in which the flint pressure spring pro jects for easy access and removal.

In the form shown in the drawing, the irnproved lighter comprises a hollow flat-sided body I, open at its top end and provided with a close fitting closure or cover 2 hingedly mounted on the body. As shown the pivot axis for the cover hinge is located within the lighter body and therefore the top margins of the body are curved in the vertical plane, on a radius from a point located within the body, so that the coacting margins of the cover, which are similarly curved, will clear the end margin of the body as the cover is swung on its hinge axis.

The bottom end of the body is closed by an integral end wall 3, which has a central inwardly projecting boss 4, and a counterbored and topped filler opening 5 therein adapted to receive a threaded closure plug 6 which will seat in the counterbored portion 'I and be substantially Hush with the bottom end surface.

As shown in Fig. 4, a transverse partition or platform 8 is provided in the upper portion of the body I to form an upper end wall and close off the interior of the body to form an enclosed fuel chamber 9, and this platform is utilized both as a means to support the wick tube and flint and as a mount for the hinge for/the swinging cover 2. Theplatform 8 is also shaped to have a pressed fit into the body l, and the body is formed to provide an internal, outwardly facing peripheral shoulder I0 upon which the platform margins seat, so that the platform will be securely held and will tightly seal the fuel chamber 9.

The wick support tube, or member I I is an eX- ternally threaded insert set into a tapped central opening in the platform 8 and is provided with the usual axial bore through which the wick I2 extends in the usual manner. As shown the upper end of the wick support tube II is of frustro-conical shape and below this tapered portion the wick tube has an integral radial ange I3 which serves as the attaching or mounting means for the cover and snuier cap assembly, as will hereinafter appear. The flint tube I4 has its upper end drive fitted and secured in a downwardly extending collar I5 which surrounds an upwardly tapered opening it into which the flint is fed and held; and the opening I 6 is located on the transverse to the center-line of the platform 8 below a striking wheel I'I. The wheel I'I is rotatably mounted in the body I, above the platform, on a fixed axle or pin I8 which is normal to both the platform center-line and the opening I6. As shown the lower end of the opening It is of the same size as the inside diameter of the flint tube I4 and the purpose of the taper in the opening is to provide a firm support for the flint I9, at the upper end of the opening, while permitting easy uninterrupted entry of the ilint into the opening from the tube I4. Also the axis of the striking wheel II is slightly offset laterally from the opening I6 to provide for a tangential throw of sparks from the flint, in a generally upward direction, toward the projecting end of the wick I2.

The flint tube i4 extends downwardly from the collar I5 and inwardly to the center of the body i Where, near the bottom of the body, the tube passes through a bridge or support 20, extending transversely between the walls of the body, and terminates within the boss on the body end wall 3. The bridge or support 2E) is formed integrally in the body l and the tube opening or eye in the bridge is axially aligned with the filler opening 5. Also the eye in the bridge 2s is formed to closely nt the tube i4 so as to firmly support the same.

As sh-own in Figs. 4 and 9 the flint tube 4, in passing from the platform collar I5 through the bridge 2G, is formed with double bends because of the laterally offset relation of the ilint opening IB and the central axis of the body l on which the ller opening is located. These bends are formed `on the longest radii possible, within the length of the fuel chamber, and the internal diameter of the tube is sufciently large that a flint of ordinary and more or less standard size will easily pass through the bends without jamming within the tube walls.

The flint i9 is held resiliently against the striking wheel il' by a helical compression spring 2l which, in the usual manner, extends from end to end of the tube ifi. In its free state, the spring 2l is considerably longer than the flint tube so that upon being compressed into the tube, it will continuously urge the flint toward the wheel Il.

As shown in Fig. e, I have provided an improved arrangement for the flint pressure spring whereby better bearing contact is had with the int and wherein the spring is more conveniently disposed for removal when flint renewal is necessary. First, I have provided a plunger 22 which is attached to the rear or outer end of the spring 2|, and which is arranged to t loosely in the bottom end of the tube lil. rThis plunger 2.2 is formed with a flanged head 23 at its lower end which supports a gasket 24 and serves as a closure for the int tube, and at its upper end has an aXial projection of reduced diameter which terminates in a ball 255. The ball Z5 is larger than the inner diameter of the coiled spring 2| and serves to connect the plunger with the spring by being entered axially through one or more c-oils of the spring. As shown, the closure cap 5 of the filler opening l, in the bottom end of the body l, is provided with a recess 26 to receive the lower end of the flint tube Ui and this recess is of such depth as to receive the head of the plunger 22 and press it upwardly to cause the gasket 24 to bear on the end of the tube I4. Thus the cap S not only seals the ller opening but also causes the plunger to seal the iiint tube so that fuel, contained within the body, will not leak into and through the flint tube.

When the cap 6 is removed, as shown in Fig. 9, the plunger 22 will be projected beyond the end of the body l by the spring 2l which expands upon being thus released, and the plunger may then be readily grasped to Withdraw the spring for insertion of a new fiint. The spring 2l will, however, only expand sufficiently to extend the plunger, because of the frictional resistance of the flint tube due to its double bend. Thus the spring is rmly retained in the tube and any danger of thn spring being thrown out of the tube upon sudden expansion is completely obviated.

The second improvement in the iiint spring air-- rangement resides in the flint brace or pusher member 2l which is made in the shape of a dumbbell having ball-shaped ends one of which is of only slightly less diameter than the flint tube. The other ball end is of a size slightly larger than the inside diameter of the spring coils and is entered through the uppermost coil to attach the pusher to the spring. The larger ball end 28 of the pusher bears directly on the end of the flint and, because of its spherical shape, cen ters the flint in the opening I6, leading to the striking wheel, so that the pressure on the flint will always be along the axis of the opening I6. In this manner the flint is prevented from jamming in the opening l5 and will at all times feed freely to the striking wheel il.

As shown in Fig. 4, the platfonn 8 serves as the hinge support for the snuffer cap 29 which in turn serves to connect the cover 2 to the lighter assembly. The snufer cap is centrally disposed within a collar Se formed on the inside of the cover 2 and located to be directly above the wick tube Il when the cover is closed, and is secured by staking over the end of a stud t! which extends through a central opening in the top end of the snuffel' cap.

The snuffel" cap is a hollow open ended device, which surrounds and encloses the wick tube H when in closed position, and is provided with an integral laterally projecting hinge arm 32 which terminates in a cylindrically surfaced or rounded head 33 formed to provide a trunnion Sri on each side of the arm E2. This rounded head with its trunnions is disposed in an upwardly opening transversely extending channel or hinge seat 35, formed in the platform 8 on the side opposite the flint opening i6, and is held in position by means of the spaced extensions or legs of a flat U-shaped spring 3S which in turn is secured on the top side of the platform by the wick tube il, which thus serves as a mounting screw.

The hin-ge seat 35 is preferably located below the top surface of the platform 8, as shown in Fig. 4, so that the legs of the hinge spring 35 can bear downwardly against the trunnions and yet lie flatly across the top of the platform and, as shown in Fig. 8, the trunnions 34 are provided with flat surfaces at right angles to each other which serve as detents on which the spring legs can rest to hold the hinge firmly in either open or closed positions. Thus the spring 36 serves not only as the means of attachment of the cover and snuifer cap assembly, through the hinge 32-33, but also as a means for holding the cover tightly closed or firmly in open position so that it will not loosely flop when the lighter is 1n use.

As shown, my improved snuier cap is provided with additional means which provides a separate and independently acting seal for the upper end of the wick tube l i to prevent the loss of fluid from the projecting wick when the lighter is not in use. This independent closure comprises an inverted cup-shaped member 33, disposed slidably within the snuffer cap 29, and having a depending margin or rim formed to seat squarely on the flange i3 of the wick tube l l so as to surround the wick opening and the projecting wick. The member 3'! is made of a permanently mag- Vnetized material and the Wick tube Il is made The snuifer cap 29 in which the member 31 is mounted is, of course, made of a suitable nonmagnetic material.

The closure 31 is mounted in the snuifer cap 29 by means of oppositely projecting radial pins 38 which slide in appropriately positioned axial grooves 39 formed in the snuffer cap side walls. This arrangement permits free movement of the closure 31 relative to the snuifer cap and independent seating of the magnetized closure 31 on the wick tube. Thus a direct and positive opening action on the cover 2, to lift the snuifer cap, is required before the closure 31 can be unseated. It will be understood, of course, that, if desired,

Vthe wick tube il may be magnetized and the closure 31 be of magnetic material to obtain the independent sealing effect.

The main advantages of this invention reside in the combination of the several improved structural features which provides a lighter that is more convenient in its use and operation and which permits a better and less costly assembly of the several elements of the device. In particular the arrangement of the platform or upper end member of the lighter with its improved hinge arrangement for the cover and snuifer cap assembly affords a simplification of the lighter construction that is not only less costly to manufacture but which also is more easily operated, of longer life and much less likely to get out of order.

Other advantages are to be found in the improved snuffer cap construction with its magnetized wick sealing insert which provides a positive independent closure of the wick tube, when the cover is closed, and which at the same time is readily opened by manipulation of the cover in one single operation.

Further advantages reside in the improved spring-seated hinge construction which eliminates the usual hinge pin; provides a single means for mounting the entire cover assembly onto the lighter structure; and provides a simple means for holding the cover securely in either opened or closed position, eliminating the usual looseness and wobble of the ordinary cover mountings.

And still further advantages are to be found in the improved arrangement of the flint follower and pressure spring arrangement whereby a single central opening at the bottom of the lighter body may be employed and wherein the int spring is retained in the flint tube during the fuel lling operation but at the same time is readily accessible for removal when desired; and in the flint tube arrangement wherein the lower end of the nint tube `is housed in the end opening of the lighter and is yet projected suinciently to permit easy lling of fuel without danger of the fuel uid entering the wick tube itself.

Although but one specific embodiment of this invention is herein shown and described, it will be understood that numerous details of the construction shown may be altered or omitted without departing from the spirit of this invention as defined by the following claims.

I claim:

1. A device of the class described, comprising a hollow upstanding body having a transversely extending upper end wall disposed to close said body and provide a fuel chamber therein, said end wall having an opening leading to Fsaid fuel chamber, a wick tube mounted in said opening and having a peripheral flange overhanging the upper margin of said opening,4 a cover formed to enclose the upper end of said body, a hinge arm extending downwardly from the inside of said cover to said end wall and having a cylindrical transversely disposed end bearing seated on said end wall, and a spring member mounted flatly on the top surface of said end wall and having a portion overlying said cylindrical end bearing and adapted to hold the same rotatably seated on the said end wall, said spring member extending across the opening to the fuel chamber and having an aperture adapted to receive said wick tube, and the ange of said wick tube being engaged on said spring member to clamp the same against said upper end wall.

2. A device of the class described, comprising a hollow body closed at one end and open at the other and having a partition disposed in the open end to define a fuel chamber within said body, said partition having a pair of spaced openings therein and the bottom end of said body having a centrally disposed filler opening, a iianged wick tube seated in one of said partition openings from the top side thereof, a flint tube leading downwardly from the other partition opening to said filler opening, a striking wheel rotatably mounted above said other partition opening cn a transversely disposed axis and with its periphery directed toward said wick tube, a coiled int pressure spring dispo-sed in said flint tube and having a bearing member at its upper end adapted to bear on a flint and urge the same through said other opening against said striking wheel, a plug member attached to the lower end of said coiled spring and fitting into said flint tube, said plug having a hanged 'head adapted to nt against the bottom end of said iiint tube, a closure for said filler opening adapted to bear on the flanged end of said plug and hold the same in said nt tube against the pressure of said coiled spring, a cover formed to t over the top end of said body, an arm extending downwardly from said cover to said partition and having a transversely disposed cylindrical end bearing seated on said partition, and a flat spring disposed on the top side of said partition with one end overlying said cylindrical end bearing and the other end clamped between said partition and the flange of said wick tube, said arm being adapted to pivot on the axis of its said end bearingto swing said cover to open and closed positions relative to the top end of Asaid body.

3. In a lighter comprising a hollow body having an end wall adjacent its upper end adapted' to .support the wick and hint elements of a lighting means, and a cover mounted at the upper end of f the body and adapted to enclose the wick element, *a hinge means for said cover comprising an arm extending from said cover to the top surface of said end wall and terminating in a laterally projecting cylindrically surfaced bearing seated on said end wall and formed to turn on an axis that is parallel with the top surface thereof, a spring vmember disposed on said end wall substantially a hinge means for said cover comprising an arm extending from said cover to the top surface 4of said end wall and terminating in a cylindrically surfaced bearing seated on said end wall intermediate the ends thereof and formed to turn on an axis that is parallel with the top surface thereof, said bearing projecting laterally from opposite sides of said arm, a spring member disposed on said end wall and having parallel laterally spaced legs extending over and bearing resiliently upon the respective projecting portions of said bearing, and a wick tube mounted on said end wall and adapted to secure said spring member fixedly on said end wall.

5. In a lighter comprising a body having a transverse upper end wall and a pivotally connected cover adapted to enclose said end Wall, a hinge means ior said cover comprising an arm extending laterally downward from the central inside portion of said cover to the surface of said end wall adjacent one end thereof, said arm terminating in an integral cylindrically surfaced end bearing disposed on an axis parallel with the plane of said end wall and normal to the plane of said arm, said bearing having a portion projecting axially from said arm, a recessed bearing seat formed in the upper surface of said end wall coaxially with said end bearing and adapted to rotatably seat the same, and a cantilevered spring having one end secured on the upper surface of said end wall and having its free portion overlying the projecting portion of said end bearing to retain said bearing in said seat,

6. In a lighter comprising a body having a transverse upper end wall and a pivotally connected cover adapted to enclose said end wall, a hinge means for said cover comprising a single arm extending downwardly from the top central inside portion of said cover to the surface of said end wall adjacent one end thereof, said arm terminating in a cylindrically surfaced end bearing disposed on an axis parallel with the plane of said end wall and normal to the plane of said arm, said bearing having a portion projecting axially from each side of said arm, a recessed bearing seat formed in the upper surface of said end wall coaxially with said end bearing and adapted to rotatably seat the same, and a flat spring extending across the upper surface of said end wall and having a pair of laterally spaced cantilevered fingers respectively overlying the projecting portions of said end bearing, said spring being secured to said end wall laterally of said bearing seat.

7. A lighter comprising a hollow bod,7 having an upper end wall, said end wall having a wick opening and a wick projecting upwardly therefrom, a snuffel' cap adapted to enclose said wick and wick opening and having a laterally projecting arm terminating in a cylindrioally surfaced bearing seated on said end wall, said bearing being rotatable on an axis disposed parallel with said end wall and having a portion projecting axially from said arm, and said arm and snuier cap being swingable upwardly on said bearing, a spring secured on said end wall and having a free nger portion extending over and engaging the axially projecting portion of said bearing to hold said bearing on its seat, and a cover member adapted to fit the end of said lighter body and enclose said end wall, said cover being attached to said snuffer cap and swingable therewith to uncover said end wall.

8. A lighter construction comprising a hollow body having a transverse upper end wall, said end wall having an opening therethrough, a magnetic metal wick support member mounted in said opening and having a central passage for a wick leading from below said end Wall, said wick support member having a peripheral ange adjacent its upper end, a snuffel' cap disposed over said wick support member and adapted to enclose the same, an inverted cup-like magnetic metal sealing member slidably mounted within said snuifer cap for relative movement along the axis thereof and having its open-end rim formed to seat marginally on the upper end of said wick support member, one of said members being magnetized, means to retain said sealing member within said snuffel' cap, an arm extending laterally from said snuffer cap and terminating in a cylindrical end bearing rotatably seated on said end Wall, said bearing having an axis parallel with the plane of said end wall and normal to said arm, a cantilevered spring having one end secured to said end wall beneath the flange of said Wick support member and its free end extending across the upper side of the end bearing of said arm whereby said arm is held pivotally attached to said end wall, and a cover fixedly mounted on said -Snuffer cap and wholly supported thereby, said cover being adapted to enclose the upper end portion of said body.

CHARLES W. HOTZE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 939,628 Puffer Nov. 9, 1909 1,937,080 Bilde et al. Nov. 28, 1933 1,980,868 Maltner Nov. 13, 1934 2,019,436 Gibson Oct. 29, 1935 2,203,980 Hickman June 11, 1940 2,385,364 Larson Sept. 25, 1945 2,404,558 Yellin July 23, 1946 2,430,323 Ayotte Nov. 4, 1947 2,433,727 Troubh Mar. 30, 1948 2,453,021 Konelsky Nov. 2, 1948 2,472,282 Burchett June 7, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 19,005 VAustria Jan. 25, 1905 268,269 Italy Oct. 9, 1948 

